It was translucent, like beams of midday sun reflecting off the surface of the ocean. Ribbons of black stone twisted along its length. It was smooth to the touch, heavy and cold. It gradually warmed under my fingers as I brought it to my nose and inhaled. Feeling it radiating. Pulsing, vibrating… Or was I imagining it? This new world of opportunity.
It was mine. My stone. I picked it – or rather, it picked me. This one. This moonstone. My first ever crystal.
Only later, did I learn of its magical properties: protection, peace and healing, providing comfort during times of stress. They say moonstone represents femininity and enhances intuition.
No wonder, I was hooked.
Since that moment, my crystal collection has grown infinitely. Each stone is unique in colour, texture, shape, structure and quality. I use them for sleep, self-confidence, creativity, strength and guidance. I bathe them in the moonlight. I keep them on my windowsill. In my bra, on my desk. In the pocket of my favourite jeans.
Google searches for “healing crystals” have blown up in the last five years. Obviously, I’m already a total convert, but if you’re sitting there scratching your head wondering what all the hype is about, know you’re not alone.
I reached out to Ashley Bellino, the founder of ethically sourced Stoned Crystals, to help explain how they work and how to incorporate them into your daily ritual.
How do you know which crystal is right for you?
When you are shopping for crystals, the best way to choose is to go with your intuition. We often have customers come in-store and the number of crystals layered by the expectation of choosing the right one can be daunting! I would always recommend a two-step process.
1. Have a look at the crystals available, and firstly determine which one you’re most attracted to aesthetically. Sometimes the crystal may catch your eye because of its shape, colour or formation and sometimes it simply winks at you. It may be a light refraction that hits and reflects or a little rainbow that catches your eye.
2. Pick up the Crystal Property Card and have a little read about the crystal. If the properties and message resonate with you, then that is the crystal for you! At Stoned Crystals, we have complementary information cards called ‘Property Cards’ for every crystal. No matter where you are you can download our STONED CRYSTALS App to read about each of the crystals you come across so you can always choose the right one for you! And remember there is really no right or wrong. Each of us, depending on the day and the things going on internally, emotionally or externally will have a number of crystals that will be an excellent fit for manifesting the things we want to bring into our life.
The body is composed of a number of different energy centres called Chakras. Each Chakra relates to a different colour and specific crystals to match. When you’ve chosen the crystal that you’re drawn to, you can then look into how that crystal resonates with an area of your life and what healing properties it can help provide.
How do you tap into the healing powers of each crystal?
Our belief is that the magic is not in the crystals, it’s within you. It’s the power of intention. By using crystals as a visual aid during meditation and through mindfulness we are able to still the chatter of the mind and also eliminate negative thought patterns. We all know that setting your mindset with a positive outlook can return positive life experiences. In much the same way setting crystals with positive intentions is the best way to manifest the things you wish to attract into your life. Let these beautiful natural wonders of the earth act as a reminder in your home, every time you see them to ensure your thoughts, actions and words are in line with your intentions and the greatest good.
I try to reflect and have a moment of stillness or meditation during my day – I use my crystals to concentrate on my intentions for that day and what I choose to manifest into this world. I choose crystals that I feel from an energetic perspective have the properties I need to focus on and bring into my life.
Mindfulness is very much the driving influence of crystals. Placing crystals in the home also helps us to bring our intentions back to what’s important. Surrounding your home or any sacred space with crystals is a great way to emanate steady vibrations, positive energy and can even refract natural light into a stagnant room. The same way you would put plants in and around your home and can clearly see the connection and energy they omit, crystals also connect us to the natural elements of Mother Earth.
What’s the science behind this?
At an atomic level, our universe is in a constant state of vibration. Crystals are extremely good at holding a stable vibration due to their crystalline lattice structure. We, on the other hand, are a very complex mix of vibrations that can easily be disturbed, become unbalanced which makes us sick and unwell. All kinds of things can affect our vibration, from external influences such as electromagnetic and geopathic stress to internal ones such as constant negative thought patterns and suppressing emotions.
Crystals emit high and steady vibrations that help to create Balance within oneself and Zen into the spaces around us by adjusting to imbalances and absorbing excess energy. It is for this reason that for thousands of years crystals have been used for their powerful healing properties.
Each Stoned Crystal aligns to a different energy Chakra. Chakras are our energy centres that are located down the midline of the body each related to an acupressure point. Ideally, the upper chakras and the lower chakras should be balanced to ensure optimum health of those bodily parts. Each of your seven chakras is also strongly connected with specific crystals which produce vibrations to help balance, align and cleanse your chakras.
What’s the best way to program or charge a crystal?
In order to maintain positive energy for our crystals to perform at their best, you need to cleanse, charge, and activate them. Even if you don’t subscribe to crystal energy, charging and activating crystals can be an incredibly powerful ritual that enables us to bring ourselves back to the symbolic meaning of the stones, and focus on creating powerful intention/mindfulness.
It’s important that the crystals you use are charged when you first buy them and regularly for them to perform at their best. With experience, you’ll be able to feel whether or not your crystals need charging. Some crystals once cleansed feel ‘raring to go’, others still feel ‘flat’, like they need something else. Leave them to recharge in the sunlight or moonlight, or place it on a larger crystal cluster to charge.
I use a Moon Calendar to help remind me of the ideal times to charge my crystals in the moonlight. The moon is just another type of clock, and for millions of years, both people and nature have followed the cycles of the moon and harnessed its energy. The moon offers us an opportunity to map, reflect and grow. Using the cycles of the moon, I keep track of when I need to charge my crystals.
After charging your crystal, ‘activating’ a crystal is the process of setting them with positive intentions. Sit quietly holding your crystal, relax and initiate circular breathing. Set an intention for your crystal silently or aloud (eg. I am down to earth and divinely connected). And remember– what we think or believe about ourselves and the world, becomes our reality.
How do you cleanse your crystals? (And when is the best time to do this?)
Cleansing is also an important step when you first bring a crystal into your life. Crystals pass through many hands, absorbing different energies that could affect your own balance. Crystals can pick up negative energies very quickly so it is important when you first obtain a crystal and even after you have been using it for some time that it is cleansed.
Depending on whether your crystal is raw or polished and also which type of crystal you should be careful and choose an appropriate cleansing method. There are a number of cleansing methods:
Smudging
Pass your crystal through the rising smoke of sacred herbs such as sage, cedar and lavender or incense sticks.
Salt Water
Soak your crystal in seawater or water mixed with salt, for anywhere between 1-24 hours, then rinse.
Dry Salt
Half-fill a bowl with sea salt/cooking salt and leave for 1-2 hours, then rinse. – Non-Contact Salt: Place your crystals directly into an empty glass bowl, and pop that into a larger bowl filled with sea salt/cooking salt, for 1-2 hours. (You can also pour water over the crystals.)
Running Water
Hold your crystal under a stream of water such as a river, waterfall, or from the tap for a few minutes.
Sound Vibrations:
Play a tuning fork, chime or a Tibetan singing bowl near your crystals, to cleanse your crystal through soft sound vibrations. (My fave!)
How can you amplify a crystal’s power?
Because smoke and sound are both ways to charge crystals, they amplify the properties so that they can work as effectively as possible and become attune to your needs.
I often use sound to amplify (and charge) my crystals. Crystal Singing bowls and Tibetan bowls are a beautiful tool to cleanse and clear negative energy from other crystals, spaces around your home and within yourself. These bowls help to induce a deep state of relaxation, ease mental tension, reduce stress and anxiety and assist in balancing energy within the body. When played, the complex sounds that are emitted from Tibetan singing bowls resonate throughout the entire body, from the feet to the crown of the head, bringing everything into alignment.
Smudging is a ritual focused on cleansing the energy in the space around us with smoke. It’s known to have a direct effect on reducing our stress response and has also been proven to contain antibacterial properties which keep infectious bacteria and viruses at bay.
Also, I encourage our customers to understand the link between crystals and our own body’s Chakras. The chakras act as portals that link our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual states of being. They respond to vibrational frequencies emitted by our thoughts, actions, intentions and even the things we eat. Throughout various stages of life, your chakras may become imbalanced from time to time leading to either excess or deficiency in particular areas of your physical and mental health. I use my chakra chart to find and embrace the crystals that I need to give me support and balance where I need them.
What’s a crystal grid and how do you make one?
Crystal grids are an incredibly powerful way to manifest intentions. They’re essentially a particular layout or arrangement of crystals that help bring together certain energy we feel we need. Through the combined use of crystals, sacred geometry in the grid, a mantra and the power of your intention you can work towards manifesting your desired goal. The power of crystals are enhanced by the power of the sacred geometry grid. The grid patterns of the ‘Flower of Life’, ‘Metatron’s Cube’ and ‘Sri Yantra’ are known as ‘sacred geometry’ as they represent the geometrical patterns that comprise every aspect of the universe, including within ourselves.
The crystal grids we love and stock at Stoned Crystals each focus on a particular Chakra point. To give everyone, from beginner to expert status, a head-start, we offer Chakra Crystal Grid Kits. They each feature crystals that are most attuned to each Chakra point, plus the grid and some instructions to follow.
For those who are avid crystal grid users, making a crystal grid can be a very personal ritual. There’s no one rule to creating a grid because it’s simply about choosing crystals that you feel connected to and that you feel you need the collective energy from at the time.
When creating a grid, you need to first understand what the intention is. What do you want to manifest in your life? Sometimes it can be helpful to create a mantra associated with your intention. E.g. ‘I am calm’. By stating ‘I am’ you are already letting the universe know that you believe this statement to be true.
Use a collection of crystals that reflect your intentions, and place them on the board in a layout you feel comfortable with. As you lay each crystal down, repeat your mantra in your mind and take a few full, deep breaths. Take this time to still your mind, block out any thoughts that don’t serve you at this time, and reflect on what you want to manifest and invite into your life. It can be really helpful also to have soft tunes playing in the background to help filter out the noise of the world around you.
As you focus on each crystal within the grid, going from one to the next, consider it like drawing a line or connected pattern between them all. Meditate on those words of your mantra and let the crystal energy fill you up. It’s the energy that each crystal brings that allows you to form the strength and mindset you need to empower you!
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